10 Funniest Badly-Translated Ad Campaigns

Companies can spend into the millions of dollars for one ad – and sometimes, the results are really, really good. And sometimes not. We look at some of the “nots.”

Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as “Ke-kou-ke- la,” meaning “Bite the wax tadpole” or the equally hilarious, “female horse stuffed with wax,” depending on the dialect. Coke then researched to find a phonetic equivalent “ko-kou-ko- le,” translating into “happiness in the mouth.”

Parker

When Parker Pen’s famous slogan “It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you” was translated into Spanish, it confused many Mexican consumers who read it as, “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.”